Canadian Tech Makes Uneven Progress on Diversity, TAP Network Reports

While report shows improvements in gender representation, diversity underrepresentation and pay equity gaps persist

Canadian Tech Makes Uneven Progress on Diversity, TAP Network Reports

Media

Stephanie Hollingshead
Tech and People Network
stephanie@tapnetwork.ca

Tech and People Network (TAP Network) today released its 2024 Diversity in Tech Dashboard, marking the organization's fifth annual report on diversity in Canada's tech sector. The findings reveal mixed progress: while representation by women has increased, the persistent challenges in advancing diversity and achieving pay equity are highlighted.

Key Findings of TAP Network’s 2024 Diversity in Tech Dashboard

Declining Diversity: Representation of people of colour and/or Black people decreased to 33.1% in 2024, down from 37.5% in 2023.
Gender Progress: Women's representation increased to 38.6%, though still below national demographics. Non-binary and other genders represent 0.5% of the sector.
Pay Gap Persists: Management-level gender pay gap remains as high as 17%.
Underrepresentation Continues: Indigenous peoples (0.8%) and persons with disabilities (5.5%) remain significantly underrepresented in the sector.
Representation of people identifying as 2SLGBTQIA+ remains relatively stable at 9.9%. This is significantly higher than Canadian census data.

"We've seen remarkable growth in companies committed to measuring workplace diversity," says Stephanie Hollingshead, CEO of TAP Network. "Five years ago, only 87 companies shared diversity data, mostly limited to gender metrics. Today, nearly 150 tech employers across Canada are providing comprehensive demographic data, representing a significant shift toward transparency and accountability in our sector. That said, the declining representation of people of colour and/or Black people is cause for concern. We urge organizations to review their recruitment and retention strategies to ensure continued strong representation of Black and racialized employees within their workforces."

Progress in Workplace Policies

The report highlights some positive developments in organizational practices:

43% of participating companies provide Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging training to leaders
57% of employers actively inquire about employee accessibility needs
45% of companies conduct pay gap analyses for equity-deserving groups

"While companies have made strides in developing inclusive policies, the data tells a sobering story: meaningful progress in diversity and pay equity remains painfully slow," says Hollingshead. "Our 2024 findings serve as an urgent wake-up call for Canada's tech sector. We need decisive, bold action in 2025 to close these persistent representation and gender pay gaps in our sector."

Looking Ahead

Several provinces have now enacted or proposed pay transparency or pay equity legislation with a goal of improving pay equity. This is an evolving landscape of pay transparency and reporting across Canada, with employers facing increasing complexities and compliance challenges. By 2026 all BC employers with over 50 employees will be required to report on gender pay discrepancies. Organizations looking to measure the diversity of their workforces can utilize TAP Network’s Diversity Benchmarking Toolkit.

The 2024 Diversity Dashboard report was made possible through support from Sun Life and Invest Vancouver. The report showcases data from TAP Network’s 2024 Tech Salary and Total Rewards Survey, which is produced in partnership with Mercer and includes data from over 27,000 incumbents at 202 Canadian tech employers.

For more information and to explore TAP Network’s Diversity in Tech Dashboard, visit https://tapnetwork.ca/edib/diversity-in-tech-dashboard.

About TAP Network

TAP Network is a non-profit association for People and Culture professionals in Canada's tech sector. The association's 1,000 members lead People and Culture practices at 250 tech companies across various subsectors, including ICT, VFX and Animation, Video Game and Interactive Digital Media, Cleantech, AI Life Sciences and more. For more information, visit: https://tapnetwork.ca/